Head Witch in Charge by Avery Flynn

Leona Sherwood is her family’s heir. This comes with great responsibility and she needs to blow off just a little steam. A poker night in Vegas is just the thing. And the handsome man she meets? Bonus.
Erik Svensen is his family’s heir, but not if his father can help it. The man has machinations coming out of his ears. Erik just wants to keep his siblings safe; they’re not the usual type of Svensen. They’re not conniving, scheming, or overall evil. Not like him. Just look at how he's worming his way into Leona's life. And not because he likes or even loves her. No. That's definitely not it.
The two are working to hide the super powerful item from the evil witch group and having epic adventures along the way. 
There are a number of times where there's a wink to the reader when Leona says that we should hear from her sisters (i.e. read their books). While this story was fine, I'm not sure we see why these two end up together and it seemed like a lot of sales tactics to get us to buy/read other books in the series. 

Three and a half stars
This book comes out September 2, 2025
Witchington #2
Follows Witcha Gonna Do?
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

August 2025 Monthly Reread

Opinions are all my own

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #1

This book came out October 28, 2014

Followed by White Hot
Audiobook from Audible

White Hot by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #2

This book came out October 28th, 2014

Follows Burn for Me
Followed by Wildfire
Audiobook from Audible

Wildfire by Ilona Andrews

Three and a half stars

This book came out July 15, 2017

Follows White Hot

Followed by Diamond Fire

Audiobook from Audible

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #3.5
Four stars
Followed by Sapphire Flames
This novella came out November 6th, 2018
Audiobook from Libby

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #4

This book came out August 27th, 2019

Follows novella Diamond Fire

Followed by Emerald Blaze
Audiobook from Audible

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #5

This book came out August 25th, 2020

Four stars
Follows Sapphire Flames

Followed by Ruby Fever

Audiobook from Audible

Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #6

Four stars

Four and a half stars

This book comes out August 23, 2022

Follows Emerald Blaze

Audiobook from Audible

Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand

Three stars
This book came out in 1941

Inspector Cockrill #1

Followed by Green for Danger

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus

Framed in Death by J. D. Robb

An artist has decided that he needs new inspiration. His idea? To take licensed companions and pose them in the manner of old paintings. Then, he paints them. And, in doing so, he will surpass the masters.

Eve is off on a new murder. This time, while we do see in the mind of the killer, we don't know who he is from the beginning. 

As with other books in this series, the personal lives of our favorite characters are moving ahead. Mavis, Leonardo, Bella, Peabody, and McNab have moved into their house. Jenkinson is settling into being a detective. And there are glimpses of all the characters we expect to see. 

Four stars

This book comes out September 2, 2025

In Death #61

Follows Bonded in Death

Followed by Stolen in Death
Ebook ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Secrets of Adulthood: Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives by Gretchen Rubin

I had heard the description of this book but had sort of forgotten that it's a book of aphorisms. If you listen to Rubin's podcast, you know that she's been collecting these for years. She finally decided to put them all in one place. 

Ranging from one sentence to shortish stories, the truths of life are gathered into categories. It's a fast read if you do it all at once, but this could also be portioned out to one a day.

Three and a half stars

This book came out April 1, 2025

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Tao left her homeland when she was a child. She predicted her father's death and, when it came true, her whole world came crashing down. Now, she roams the countryside of her new home, telling small fortunes. Those are easier than life changing fortunes and allow her to make some money. Right now, she's just trying to stay one step ahead of the guild. Her life is better than it was before she left, but she's lonely. 

In this story, she starts to meet people (and animals) who are going to make it so that she has a core group of friends who can help her to continue to lead her life the way she wants.

This was a cute story. It dragged in a couple of places and I'm not sure that everything wrapped up cleanly but I generally enjoyed the story. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 5, 2024

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Roommate Mistake by Pippa Grant

I feel bad but every once in awhile a Grant just doesn't land for me. This was one of them; I didn't buy Ziggy and Holt as a couple. Too much insta-love and not a lot of reasons why. And this was one of those stories where there would have been no story if the two of them had just talked to each other so there was a lot of filler, not a lot of plot. 

Two stars

This book came out February 6, 2025

Copper Valley Pounders Rugby #2

Follows Until it was Love

Borrowed as Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life by Anu Partanen with narrator Abby Craden

This is one of the books that probably could have been a Ted Talk (and maybe it was.) Partanen has personal experience with moving from a Nordic country and now living in the United States and her comparisons are very interesting. When they're initially stated. But then there's not much depth. It seems like some sentences and ideas are just restatements. 

I enjoyed her explanation of the Nordic theory of love.

Three stars

This book came out June 28, 2016

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own